This invention relates to devices and methods for cushioning feet during normal walking, and in particular to a removable heel cushion.
Pain and discomfort are often experienced by many individuals during normal walking. This is especially true for people with various forms of arthritis affecting the knee and ankle. Conditions causing involvement of the foot, such as plantar fascitis, obviously require direct attention to provide a degree of comfort while walking.
Many devices and methods have, of course, been suggested in the past to relieve heel pressure while walking or running, especially in the field of athletic foot wear. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,435,079, issued Jul. 25, 1995, teaches the use of a spring 26 (FIG. 1) fixably attached to a heel portion of a sole 12 (FIG. 1) in order to provide shock absorbence and energy return while walking or running with an athletic shoe. As depicted in FIG. 4 the sole 12 is shown detachably fixable to shoe 10. Additional embodiments include removable hollow heel members 50 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. Again, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,405,455 B1, issued Jun. 18, 2002, teaches a shock-absorbing running shoe 10 (FIG. 1). In this shoe 10 the heel portion of the foot is suspended by means of elastic bands 48, 38 (FIG. 2) connected to adjustable struts 24, 44 (FIG. 2) over a hollow portion 18 within the heel portion of the shoe 10, thereby providing for a larger clearing area under the heel portion of the foot, and thus a greater range of shock absorption. Additionally to the above noted U.S. patents, U.S. Pat. No. 5,826,352, issued Oct. 27, 1998, teaches the use of a rotatable and replaceable rear sole 28 (FIG. 2) to provide longer wear. Provisions are provided for rotating, removing, or inverting the rear sole 28 as may be required.
While the above noted devices and methods provide useful concepts for problems associated with shocks to the heel portion of the foot encountered during normal walking, they do not envision the simplicity and economy inherent in the present invention.
It is therefore a primary object of the invention to provide removable heel cushions for resilient shock absorption during normal walking.
An additional object of the invention is to provide for a quick installation and quick release of a pair of removable heel cushions depending on user requirements.
An additional object of the invention is to provide removable heel cushions with user determined degrees of resilient shock absorption.
A further object of the invention is to provide economical removable heel cushions.
These and other objects are obtained with the removable heel cushion of the present invention.
The large number and variety of shoes and shoe inserts routinely recommended for relieving pain and discomfort in the foot and leg during normal walking clearly indicate room for improvement and simplification. In the case of the special shoe, high cost is likely a factor. In addition, the user is generally xe2x80x9clocked intoxe2x80x9d wearing the shoes for an extended period of time. And in the case of shoe inserts they often tend to create problems in and of themselves. And again the user is generally committed to using the inserts for extended periods of time.
It occurred that it would be desirable to have a method for converting comfortable, everyday shoes into efficient, resilient shock absorbers at the users convenience. To this end a heel pocket, generally resembling the shape of a traditional heel portion of a shoe, has been formed. The heel pocket can be made of a variety of materials, including cloth, leather, or plastics. The tough, elastomeric qualities of polyurethane plastic make this material particularly suitable for this application. The heel pocket has a solid floor bordered by a narrow width front retaining wall for securing the shock absorber to be placed within the pocket, and upstanding generally linear and parallel to each other left and right side walls confluent with an upstanding arcuate shaped rear wall. Left and right side fastening strips are attached to the left and right upstanding side walls. The fastening strips can be attached to the heel pocket side walls in any convenient manner, such as, for example, gluing, sewing, heat sealing, and so on. One type of fastener can be a pair of heat sealed strips of polyurethane with a portion of each end of the strips having an attached oppositely positioned hook and loop area such as VELCRO(trademark) to enable fast and easy installation and removal of the removable heel cushion as required. A second type of fastening strip can be a pair of shoe laces, secured via a knot on one side of a pair of holes in the upstanding left and right side walls of the heel pocket, again providing for fast and easy attachment and removal of the removable heel cushion. Obviously many other convenient closures can be used, as, for example, snaps and buckles, according to designer preference.
The above described heel pocket provides a convenient receptacle for the placement of any one of a variety of resilient shock absorbers. The shock absorbers can, of course, be permanently installed, but are preferably supplied installed in a manner permitting customer removal and replacement as required by customer preferences. For example, coil springs fabricated in metal, plastic, or rubber, can be placed within the heel pocket. A range of shock absorbing spring specifications can be made available for user selection. A preferred shock absorber would be a thick sheet of polyurethane plastic having a series of hemispheres vacuum formed within the sheet. The sheet is configured to fit within the heel pocket of the removable heel cushion of the invention, being positionally secured within the heel cushion with a frangible adhesive patch affixed to a base portion of the sheet. In use the weight of the body would flatten out and compress the hemispheres. Since the polyurethane is an elastomeric material the hemispheres will spring back as the body moves forward. Again, in this case, resilient shock absorbing can be made to user preference by varying the thickness of the polyurethane sheet.
To use the removable heel cushion of the invention a user simply places the heel section of his or her shoe into the heel pocket of the assembled removable heel cushion and secures the straps or laces over the upper portion of the foot adjacent the ankle or of the shoe. In the case of a shoe having only a sole and no heel, the upstanding side walls and upstanding rear wall fit over the rear or heel area of the upper portion of the shoe with the outer surface of the shock absorber within the heel pocket contacting the outer surface of the rear portion of the sole. And in the case of a shoe with a heel the upstanding side walls, upstanding rear wall, and front panel of the heel pocket fit over the outer side surfaces of the heel, with the shock absorber within the heel pocket now contacting the base or floor contacting surface of the heel of the shoe. The fastening strips attached to the sides of the heel pocket are now simply secured over the top of the foot or shoe of the user, either on a top portion of the users foot just ahead of the ankle, or on a top surface of a shoe, depending on the style of the shoe.
Thus it can be seen that the combination heel pocket, shock absorber, and fastening strips comprise a unique, new, removable heel cushion. Users can quickly and easily connect or disconnect these cushions on a wide variety of every day shoes to obtain a cushioned gait while walking at just about any time considered desirable. And user selected shock absorbers can customize the removable heel cushion to user requirements